In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Minister for Finance and Foreign Trade, analyses the application in Portugal of the convergence criteria imposed by the Maastricht Treaty and the influence on the country’s economy of the rates set by the European Central Bank.

In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Minister for Finance and Foreign Trade, analyses the difficulties encountered by Portugal in the adoption of the euro and compares the former monetary system of the escudo with that of the new European currency.